And Found
by Shadey13
Summary: Here is the long awaited sequel to my first story, Missing. I'm sorry it took so long to post!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, So I know you all have been waiting for this for a REALLY long time now. And I'm sorry to say my updates will be far apart because I now have a job and school and family problems... so please be kind. Given the many readers and responses I got to my first story, I finally got over my writer's block, just long enough to write you guys a first chapter of the sequel to my first story. Enjoy!...**

Emily walked through her front door with Ryan following close behind, carrying her luggage. She reluctantly allowed him to bring her overnight bag up from the cab to her apartment. When she opened the door, everything seemed so familiar and she was relieved to finally be home. She stepped inside and threw her keys in a bowl by the door and just took in all that was her home. Once she got into the living room, she heard a thud behind her and the door slam shut. She sighed. Ryan hadn't left her side since she woke up. She did love the man, but he seemed to smothering her. Putting on the best look of exhaustion she could muster up (which wasn't that hard considering the time she spent "resting" in the hospital) she turned towards her fiancé.

"Thank you, Ryan." she said.

"Anything for you." He smiled at her and looked adoringly into her eyes. "What else do you need?" He asked. Emily loved how sweet he was, but she needed time away from. At least for one night.

"Nothing. Actually," she added a yawn for emphasis, "I'm a little worn out. I think I'll just go get some rest. Besides, you have work tonight." A look of uncertainty came over his face. "I'll be fine. My phone will be beside me at all times and you can come check on me tomorrow."

Finally he gave in. "Okay, if you're sure." he looked at his watch. "I suppose if I go home now I can get showered up and ready for work." He gave Emily a kiss on the cheek and said goodbye before leaving.

Emily threw herself down on the couch with a sigh, but quickly learned that, that was a bad idea. She let out a hiss of pain before relaxing into the familiarity of her soft couch. She looked up at the clock on her wall and debated on what she could do the rest of the day. She wasn't allowed to return to work for at least a week and she still wouldn't be cleared for the field until she finished her physical therapy. Without the BAU, she was at a complete loss. Usually she would go over to JJ's or Garcia's to watch a movie or have a few drinks, but she hadn't seen JJ since she woke up and by this time the liaison would be at work. Knowing that Penelope was watching Henry and working from home for the time being, Emily figured she'd call the Goddess.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the indestructible, Emily Prentiss calling lil' ol' me. How you doing sweetie?" Garcia answered, after looking at the caller I.D.

"Hello to you too, Garcia. I'm doing fine. Except the fact that I'm bored out of my mind. Do you still have Henry over there?" Emily replied excitedly. Glad that Garcia was, in fact, at home.

"Of course I do."

"Would you mind me coming over there to visit? I can watch him and keep him away from you while you work on the gruesome part of our job."

"Have I ever denied you entrance into my lovely lair? I'll be there within ten minutes to get you."

"No need. I can get there on my own." Emily heard Garcia start to argue, but she quickly cut her off. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. It's just a ten minute cab ride. No harm." Garcia thought this over and hesitantly gave in to the profiler. "Great. See you soon."

GARCIA'S PLACE

Emily approached Garcia's door, happy she would see her friend and Henry again. She lifted her and gently knocked on the door, just in case Henry was napping. Not even two seconds later, the quirky blonde opened the door with the biggest smile in the world. Skipping the "hellos" Garcia attacked Emily with a full forced hug, causing the brunette to wince.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Em! It completely slipped my mind." As Garcia apologized, Emily heard the squeal of a young boy.

"Princess Emmy!" Henry came running to the door and attacked Emily with the equivalent strength of Garcia's hug. Emily chuckled and squatted down to properly hug him back.

"How you doing kiddo?" She asked once released from the hug.

Henry grabbed her hand and ignored the question. "Come play!" The profiler was dragged to the living room where multiple toy cars and action figures were spread throughout the room. Emily was amazed at how easily he transitioned back to life as if nothing happened. True, Garcia did mention that sometimes at night he wonders why JJ and him are staying with Garcia rather than Will, but it's forgotten by morning. Will did get to see his son on the weekends, but JJ was fighting for full custody at the moment. But that's all the information Emily has received on the matter and the majority of it came from when Garcia came to visit her at the hospital.

Garcia shut the door and turned around to see the two playing. When Emily was with Henry, everything came so naturally to her. Not many people knew this, but Emily is a closeted geek. She had countless amounts of comic books and every superhero movie. Including all the Batmans. As the brunette and child made up a story with the action figures, Garcia decided to make some lunch.

A few minutes later she came back into the room with Mac 'n Cheese for Henry. He and Emily were arguing on many powers of Superman when Garcia finally interrupted. "Okay children, time for lunch." Emily looked up and stuck her tongue out at Garcia, before standing up.

"How about I put in…" Emily looked through the DVDs JJ kept over there for sleep overs. "Spiderman vs. The Punisher?" her voice got all excited and Henry let out a squeal of approval.

Once the DVD was in and the boy was completely engulfed in the movie, Emily and Garcia moved to the kitchen to talk.

"You're going to make a great mom someday. Do you know that Emily Prentiss?" The tech-y said as they took their seats.

Emily smiled over at the little boy sitting with his mouth open, staring at the TV. "I think he's just easy to get along with." she said, still staring dreamily at him.

"Yeah, that's because all you guys talk about are his dolls and the powers the have." Garcia rolled her eyes.

"Hey! They're action figures!" Emily immediately defended.

Garcia let out a light laugh, "Too bad he isn't twenty years older, or he could be your soul mate." They both smiled. Garcia then noticed Emily's eyes lower to the ring on her hand. "So why isn't your mystery boy keeping you company today?" Garcia didn't like Ryan and Emily could easily tell, but she didn't understand why.

"I gave him the day off. Plus he needed to work."

Garcia nodded. "You know I don't trust him." It was now Emily's turn to nod. "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell _me_ that you were seeing someone?" She sounded genuinely hurt. Like she couldn't be trusted.

Prentiss was about to answer, but felt lost for words. "Well,… you know how it is…" she thought for a second. "You know, working where everyone knows everything about you. It's nice to have one thing that's kept to yourself."

"I don't know! We're a family, and we don't keep anything from each other. I'd understand if it was just a hook up, but obviously it serious." She then pointed to the ring.

Emily stopped to ponder this. She didn't even know it was getting that serious. It had been so long since she had a serious relationship, she'd forgotten what if felt like. Was this it? This was the feeling a person gets when they are committed to someone? It felt oddly anti-climatic then she thought it would.

Garcia sat across from her, thinking of why she disliked this random man so. Initially she thought it was because he was a stranger that was just thrust into their lives so suddenly. Then she realized it was more than that. Again, she thought, well maybe it was because she knew how much his presence hurt JJ and that he was proof to her being wrong. She had felt the vibes between the two ladies on the team for as long as she could remember. And that's when she noticed, the man gave off weird vibes. He's 'aura' gave her the creeps.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Emily's voice. "So how's JJ doing?" The brunette tried to change the subject. Little did she know, it was still right on topic with what the two were talking about.

"Good."

Emily gave her a skeptical look at the simplistic-ness of Garcia's answer. "Is she mad at me?" Emily would repeatedly ask this question when she saw Garcia. The answer was always the same.

"You two should talk" Emily rolled her eyes. The conversation would always come to this. Emily would say, she would if she could and Garcia would say try harder and Emily would ask how and then there would be silence.

"If she wanted to talk to me, she would've by now. There is nothing I can do"

"Wrong, there was nothing you could do while you were in the hospital. Now, you're free! So go talk to her!" _And just kiss it out and get it all out of the way_. Garcia wondered what look she would've gotten if she said that last part aloud, but brushed it off when Henry came running in.

"Emmy, will you watch this one with me?" Henry said, holding up a X-Men movie. Emily looked down at his big blue eyes and smiled. That one smile led to three different movies. Garcia had moved to her room to work after the first one, which left Emily and Henry to bicker about the flaws in each movie. Sometime during the fourth one the two passed out on the couch and when Garcia failed to hear the two arguing, she came out to check on the two. She smiled at the sight of Emily holding Henry to her side as they laid on the couch. The self proclaimed goddess silently turned around and headed back into her room to sleep too.

A couple hours later….

JJ had just gotten off work and was exhausted. She couldn't wait to get back to Penelope's and fall asleep. The worst part of her job was paper work and that was all she had worked on throughout the day. The only good thing about it was it served for a distraction from all that was going on in her life at the moment.

She slowly opened the door, knowing that Henry was probably already asleep, along with Garcia. Figuring Henry and Garcia were probably in the master bedroom, JJ dimly turned on the light to the living room and was shocked to find the place a disaster. Popcorn was spilled around the coffee table, action figures and toys were laying on the floor and the movie menu was still playing on loop on the TV. Lastly, her eyes settled on the two figures lying on the couch sound asleep. Involuntarily, she smiled when she saw Emily hugging her son tight to her side. She took a moment to take in this picture, wishing it would last forever, when she noticed Emily's bandage peeking out of her shirt. JJ debated with herself. Waking Emily meant confrontation, but letting her sleep meant possible physical pain.

Finally the liaison decided to let the two sleep. She just couldn't bring herself to be the one to break up this perfect image. Sighing, she walked over to the chest by the entertainment center and grabbed a blanket from it. Gently, she draped it over her son and her friend. With one last look she turned off the TV and the light and reluctantly headed towards the guest room.

**Ok... there ya go. Again I know you all probably hate me for what I've done, but trust me, this is just a start. Now as I said earlier, I won't be updating very quickly, but I will try. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is your chapter 2. This was actually posted A LOT sooner than i thought... anyways, Enjoy!**

Garcia awoke to the soft sound of her alarm clock slowly escalating in noise. She smiled lazily as she reached over and hit the 'off' button. Her feet swung over the side of the bed and she walked over to her robe that was hanging from a hook by her door. When she opened the door it let out a soft creak and she gently closed it; careful to not make too much noise. She had recently gotten into the routine of being very quiet in the morning to let JJ and Henry sleep in. As she walked through the front room, she saw that Henry and Emily were still lying on the couch. Briefly she smiled at the sight, then headed to the kitchen to make coffee. Once she had the pot brewing, her phone broke out in a loud ring. She lunged for it hastily, wanting to make it stop before her guests woke up.

"Hello?" she whispered into the phone once she got it.

"Wow! I think that's the first time I heard you only say 'hello' when you answered the phone."

Garcia smiled brightly "Hello lovely Kevin. This is your angel speaking." She then snuck out into the other room so she didn't disturb the sleeping beauties on her couch.

Unfortunately, it was too late and Emily was awoken by the time the phone rang. She respectfully waited for Garcia to leave and carefully moved out from under Henry. Once she stood up she realized what a bad idea it was to sleep on the couch with her wound. She limped over to the bathroom to clean up. It was times like these that she was happy Garcia was afraid every little scrap was deadly. Her bathroom was full of first aid kits and medical wrap. She took off her shirt and gently peeled the bandaged area on her chest. The two wounds were almost healed but she knew the scars would always be there as a reminder of her stupidity. Sighing at how weak she looked, she decided to just clean her wounds and patch them back up.

JJ was laying in her bed as she heard Garcia get up and start the coffee. She knew her friend was trying to keep from waking anyone , but JJ had already gotten little sleep. A half hour ago she woke up for the third time and decided it wasn't worth trying to fall back asleep again. When she heard the phone go off and Garcia walk away, she debated on whether she wanted to go get coffee or not. If she left the room she'd have to face Emily when she woke up and she wasn't ready for that. Sighing, she chose to start getting ready for work early. Once she had her make up and clothes on, she brushed out her hair and finally had nothing else to do to procrastinate. Taking a deep breath, she quietly opened her door as to not wake Emily. As soon as she was out the door, she smelt something cooking in the kitchen and when she approached that particular room she saw Emily Prentiss cooking a delicious breakfast.

Emily heard something behind her and she immediately turned around to see JJ for the first time since the day she woke up. "Hey." it was so simple and so quiet, JJ barely heard it.

"Hey."

Emily looked down at the food she was preparing and then back up at JJ. "Do you want some breakfast?" JJ just nodded and sat down. Emily lowered the heat on eggs and went to the cabinet where Garcia kept her plates. She opened it and reached for a high shelf, but recoiled when a wave of pain passed in her chest. She would have fallen to the ground if JJ hadn't have jumped up and grabbed Emily's waist. She helped the injured brunette to a chair. Once Emily was seated, JJ pulled away and looked at her and both noticed they were inches apart and their eyes were locked. Emily's breath caught in her mouth as she felt the overwhelming urge to be closer. _Wait! Stop that Prentiss, you're engaged! _She thought to herself and broke the gaze to look down at her finger. JJ jumped backed and followed Emily's eyes.

"So, I'll get the food." Emily wanted to protest, but was too shocked by her thoughts. Why was she feeling this way towards her friend? Especially now that she's engaged? She looked up when JJ returned with two plates complete with toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs. JJ then avoided eye contact and this didn't go unnoticed by Emily.

"What's wrong JJ?" The profiler allowed the question to remain general. She wanted to see how far in depth JJ would allow Emily to see.

"Nothing," she answered too quickly.

Emily tried a different approach. "So what have I missed during my escapades in the hospital?"

JJ looked up for the first time and studied Emily. _Well I stayed by your bedside for 5 days straight, because I love you, then I drank for three days straight because I found out you have a boyfriend, I left Will and lost my house to him, because he had no one to stay with in DC. When I finally returned to you, you said yes to another man and broke my heart, so I stayed either with my son or at the office all day everyday and avoided everyone except Garcia and Henry since you've came out of your coma. I think that pretty much sums up my life while you were in the hospital. _"Nothing much."

Emily sighed. She followed Garcia's advice and she still is getting nowhere with JJ. "Would you at least tell me what's going on with Henry and Will?" She was tired of pretending she wasn't trying to dig and just got straight to the point… well one of the points.

"He's not happy with the original arrangement I had, so now he's challenging me for full custody."

"That's ridiculous! He can't do that, can he?"

"He's going to try."

"Well he's not going to win. There's too much against him given recent events."

"We've learned from Hotch that with our job, custody battles aren't usually in our favor." JJ sounded doubtful and it broke Emily's heart to think that JJ thinks she might lose her son.

"If there's anything I can do…" she let the sentence fall, and JJ showed no response. "You know I'm always here for you and Henry right? Well, I mean obviously." she pointed towards her bandaged torso.

"I told you I had a bad feeling." Emily nodded regretfully. JJ finally looked up and concern covered her face. "How bad is it?"

Emily smiled. "It's getting better each day." she subconsciously touched her recently cleaned scar.

"Can I see?" JJ wanted to see for herself that Emily's wounds weren't too bad.

Emily nodded and pulled down her shirt, then gently pulled the bandage half way off. The small circular piece of flesh was stitched together and slightly red from the blood flow. Without thinking JJ lifted up her hand and traced around the scar without touching it or hurting Emily. Shivers ran down Emily spine at JJ touch and she was again transfixed by the blonde woman. Realizing how close she was and where her hand was almost, JJ retracted her hand from Emily's chest and cleared her throat that had suddenly gone dry.

Silence took over the room again. Both women were lost in their thoughts, each about the other. Emily finally decided that to ask the question that had been nagging at her since she was shot, and even more after she woke up after two weeks. "JJ?" She was stirred from her thoughts and gave Emily her full attention. "What were you going to tell me?" JJ looked at her confused. "When I was shot, you told me you had something important to tell me. What was it?"

JJ took her time thinking this one over. She knew Emily wouldn't let this one go and she knew Emily would see straight through her lie if she came up one. Her throat suddenly became very dry again. There was no way out of this. "Come on Jayje. You told me to fight for this. What is it?"

JJ looked straight into Emily's eyes and felt all the love she could feel towards the woman. "I -" She was interrupted by the blaring sound of Emily's cell ringing. Then both of them turned towards the sound of thumping. At that moment they saw Garcia hitting her head against the wall. When Emily's phone rang again, she got up to answer it. She looked at the caller ID and instantly walked out into the hall.

Garcia then walked out with a large groan. "So close!" she came fully into the room and sat in the now vacant seat. "Why did Emily's phone have to ring?" she threw her head down into her hands.

"What was I going to tell her Garcia? I can't tell her the truth." JJ followed suit and ran her hands through her hair.

IN THE HALL…

"Hey, Ryan." Emily answered her phone once she got out of earshot. She wasn't sure why she left the room. It's not like she was doing anything wrong. She was just talking to one of her friends. And why would Ryan upset JJ?

"Babe, where are you?" Ryan's frantic voice came over the phone.

"I'm at Penelope's. I stayed the night last night because I wanted to see Henry." she said as if it was nothing.

"I thought you went to sleep when I left you yesterday and when I didn't hear from you at all I came by in the morning and you weren't here and I was worried."

"I'm sorry." She didn't really know what she was apologizing for, but it was easier to just get past it.

"Why didn't you tell me you wanted to go over there? I could have given you a ride."

"I decided to go after you left for work. Plus I managed to get over here by myself funny enough." Ryan was taken back by her harsh tone. Emily didn't even know why she was being so mean, but she didn't care at the moment. "Look I got to go. I'll talk to you later." Without hearing a reply, she hung up the phone and put it in her pocket. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the door, back into Garcia's place.

IN THE KITCHEN…

"Yes you can! What's the worst that can happen?" Garcia argued back.

"Well, she can laugh; she can stay with her fiancé; the office can get so awkward that one of us has to leave." JJ started to list all her fears and insecurities.

"Sugar, look at the glass half full." Garcia changed her tone to sweet.

"Like what?" she deadpanned.

"I've seen the way you two act around each other." JJ looked up with a little hope in her eyes. "Look at it this way, what if she loves you back?"

Emily stopped around the corner at hearing what Garcia said. Her heart stopped with her… then it sped up to a frantic speed. She must've heard the tech-y wrong. She's still dreaming. She couldn't come up with an explanation for what she just heard. She had been standing there for a minute when she realized that she couldn't hear the two speaking anymore. Then she was pulled from her thoughts by Henry walking towards her.

"Princess Emmy, is there any breakfast?" he said sleepily. All three women turned their heads to the little boy. JJ stood stalk still, realizing that Emily was back and she could have easily walked into the conversation.

"Of course, let's go get you some food." Emily guided Henry over to the table and sat him next to JJ. Neither woman looked at each other.

When Emily returned with a plate of food for Henry, JJ stood up. "I should get to work." She leaned down to her son and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you when I get home buddy." Emily turned and watched JJ walk out the door. Again, she was lost at what she was going to do. Garcia watched Emily watching JJ and didn't know how the two great profilers couldn't figure out they were meant for each other. And Henry just sat, eating his breakfast, totally oblivious to what was going on behind him.

**I hope you liked it. Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we go. This is probably more of the time it's going to take to update. Sorry. Anyways this is a bit shorter than I like, but here you go...**

Prentiss had just finished putting on her makeup and headed downstairs to the kitchen to grab coffee. Today was her first day back at the office and she had woken up extra early to surprise everyone. The whole team thought she was going to return next week, but due to her connections, she was able to get all the paperwork done fast and back to the office sooner than expected. She thanked god for coffee, then grabbed her keys and headed out to her car. As she pulled up to the parking garage of the building she smiled to herself. While committed to bed rest for past few weeks, Emily had strongly missed her job. Some people may think that working for the BAU and seeing the things she saw would scare her away, but she got a sense of pride from catching people that are so evil. Finally, she stepped through the doors of the elevator into the bull pen that was the BAU.

Slowly she walked to her desk and took a seat, savoring the feeling of being back at work. She let out a soft sigh, then looked up at Hotch's office. Of course he was in. No matter how early she shows up, he was always there first. Figuring she should get started, she picked up a pile of papers off Morgan's desk and got to work.

Because Henry was with Will this week, (much to JJ and Garcia's dismay), Garcia and JJ walked into the office slightly earlier than usual. Garcia decided to walk JJ to her office and then head down to her cave of wonders. Both women stopped when they opened the glass doors to the bull pen. There they saw Emily sitting at her desk, her head down, working hard. The woman looked so lost in her work, that the two debated on disturbing her. JJ mostly wanted to avoid the brunette that had taken up 90% of her thoughts. Garcia, seeing the hesitation in the blonde's eyes, rolled her own.

"I'll see you at lunch, alright?" Garcia said, nudging the woman to her right, before turning around and heading to the elevator to her own working space. JJ simply nodded and turned back to Emily. Shaking her head, she completely steered clear of the brunette and headed straight to her office. When she finally closed the door behind her, she let out a deep breath. Clearing her mind, she decided to treat this day like any other and just ignore the fact that the woman that has been occupying her mind is right on the other side of that door. She sat down at her desk and found a sticky not on the top of a pile of files:

Hey, I took cases from Morgan's pile. Bring him the first wave. - Emily

Sighing, she rubbed her hands along her face and realized, this is going to be harder than she had originally thought.

ON THE ELEVATOR…

"No I swear it's there!" Reid exclaimed to Morgan as the elevator made it's way to their floor.

"Everyone says there is always something in the bushes under Lincoln's memorial, but I've never seen a thing." Derek returned skeptically.

"I can prove it. Do you have a five?" Derek rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. Searching through the receipts, he finally found a five dollar bill.

"I don't see anything Reid." While Morgan was examining the money, Reid stared at the numbers above the door indicating which floor they were on. "Reid?"

"Let me see this." Reid grabbed the five and seemed to be intensely looking for the number in the bush. Then the elevator door dinged and Reid quickly stuffed the five in his pocket. "Thanks!" he shouted then quickly ran off towards his desk.

"No you don't, Brainy Boy!" Morgan then chased after the scrawny man. Reid was running at full speed and didn't notice Prentiss standing up and walking towards the coffee machine. The two crashed into each other and Emily let out a hiss of pain.

"Ow! Whoa, what's going on?" she exclaims.

Reid's eyes doubled in size and he immediately started spewing out apologies. "Emily, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were here and I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you ok?" He spoke so fast, Emily almost couldn't understand him.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's alright. Just a little sore." She said rubbing her chest where her wound is.

JJ ran out at the sound of Emily cry of pain. She was by the brunette's side in seconds. "Emily are you okay?" Her hand rested on the profiler's back, offering support. Then she grabbed her other hand.

Without thinking, Emily leaned into the blonde's touch. Once she realized what was going on, she just squeezed JJ hand and then stepped away. "I'm fine."

"What the hell were you guys thinking?" JJ, still on alert, questioned Morgan and Reid sternly. When she heard Emily in pain, she instantly thought back to the shooting. Her feelings were on high and she completely forgot about avoiding the profiler.

Reid looked guiltily at JJ and Emily, but Emily stepped in. "What she means is, why were you chasing Reid this time?" JJ finally realized the tone she had given them and took a deep breath to calm down.

"Well, Smarty Pants here, tricked me and stole five dollars from me." Morgan said, motioning to Reid.

Emily chuckled. "Really? This is all over five dollars?" the two boys got a guilty look on their faces. Emily rolled her eyes. "Reid, give Morgan his money back." Deciding not to argue, Reid reluctantly handed over the money.

"Hey, what are you doing back?" Morgan asked, finally catching on to Emily's return. Reid looked up, also surprised. "You still have another week on bed rest."

"Do you really think I could stay away from you guys for another week?" Emily smiled. JJ silently slipped away, once she was satisfied that Emily was okay. Reid smiled widely, glad to have their team member back. Morgan's smile was not quite as big as the other twos.

"Well, we should get to work." Derek said suddenly. Reid and Emily shared a look before deciding to follow the larger man's lead. Emily refilled her coffee then sat at her desk and the three profilers got engrossed in their work.

Each of them were in their own little worlds when they read the separate minor cases. They knew the horror of what they read was nothing compared to what the families and detectives involved in these cases were going through. One reason why Emily loves her job so much is that while helping with the many problems going on in the country, she realizes how small her personal problems were. Yes she was in pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain these victims go through. Yes she has worries about how her family is dealing with her return and her engagement, but it's nothing compared to the worries the victims' families go through. Her job helps create insight to the real importance of life. To cherish what is there and those that you love.

After a couple hours of working, Hotch stepped out of his office. "Emily," Everyone looked up at their chief. "can I see you in my office." Emily nodded and stood up. Reid followed Emily with curious eyes while Morgan immediately continued with his work.

Emily stepped into Hotchner's office and took a seat in front of his desk. "You wanted to speak with me?"

Hotch nodded, sitting behind his desk. "I think you know what this is about." He said in his most professional voice. Emily nodded. "According to the book, your actions while we were looking for Henry, were nowhere near protocol." Emily looked down at her hands.

"Yes sir."

"Not only did you put your life and Henry's life endanger," Emily cringed at the thought of losing Henry. "you also assaulted William Lamontagne."

"Hotch, he deserved that and you know it." Hotch hid his smile with the most stern glare he could muster.

Emily obviously knew he was being serious and she changed her demeanor. "All professionalism aside, you really scared us." his tone became somber.

"I'm sorry Hotch."

"I understand where you came though, but none of should have been on that case. We were all too close to be omniscient." Emily nodded.

"You know JJ wouldn't have trusted anyone else on that case." Hotch nodded in return.

"The point is, no more reckless decisions. We almost lost Reid and Garcia before this and now you. This team can't keep going through near death experiences."

OUT IN THE BULLPEN…

While Hotch and Emily were talking in the office, Reid took this moment to ask Morgan about his behavior. "Hey Morgan." Reid whispered rather loudly.

The dark man looked up expectantly. "Yeah?"

"What's bothering you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your body language seemed to become more guarded when you noticed Emily was back," Reid explained, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Reid! Don't profile me." Morgan said strongly.

"I'm not profiling you." He said defensively. "I'm genuinely concerned about the observations I made earlier."

"Reid, I don't want to talk about it." His walls were building higher.

Reid was just about to push further when JJ came in. "Hey guys conference room! We have a case." Both men forgot about the conversation that Reid was attempting to have and quickly grabbed their stuff and headed towards the conference room.

HOTCH'S OFFICE…

"If that's it, then I'd like to get back to work." Emily said while standing up.

"Of course." Emily walked towards the door and reached for the handle. Before she grabbed it, the door swung open and JJ stuck her head in. There her lips brushed against Emily's cheek. Both women froze in shock. Neither knowing what to do. They looked into each others eyes, both of them transfixed.

**There you go. Hope you liked it. Please review because I love hearing from you guys. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I feel like I'm getting worse and worse at this. I can tell you a million excuses and most would be true, but I know you don't want to hear them. I want you to know that even though you probably hate me for taking forever to update and having a really short chapter, every time I see a review it drives me to at least try and make time to write this. So thank you! :) Enjoy...**

"What do you got JJ?" Hotch said. Both women broke eye contact and switched back to professional mode.

JJ looked right at Hotch and answered, "New case. Meeting in conference room." The two agents nodded and JJ quickly exited. At that moment the girls decided that no matter what they would remain professional.

IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM

Reid sat staring at Morgan. He tried hard not to profile members of his team, yet Derek was making it obvious that his mood since Emily has returned has shifted. He joked less and made little conversation with the other agents. Derek was now completely focused on the file in front of him. Reid wasn't sure why he was looking over another case right before they were about to be briefed on this one. He was going to be distracted and may mistakenly cross profile.

Both men looked up when JJ and Emily walked in. Reid immediately noticed Derek's frown. The dark man shifted slightly away when the brunette took her seat near the board and next to Derek. Reid decided that moment to pay close attention to the two and see what was going on between them. Derek's reaction didn't got unnoticed by JJ and Emily either, and both women frowned at his movements.

Once everyone was in the room, JJ got started: "Just outside of Berry, Alabama three people have been found burned at the stake in the last two weeks." Photos from the crime scene appeared on the screen. Charred bodies tied up to wooden poles are displayed in the middle of a forest with just enough clearing to keep from catching the trees. "No apparent resemblance between the victims." Three photos of smiling people popped up. One was a blonde woman about mid-twenties, "This is Laura Knightling. Twenty-three years old. Living on her own just on the outskirts of town. She works at a diner in town but mostly keeps to herself." Next was a dark haired African American man in his forties. "This is Roger Kennedy, forty-seven. Lives with his wife and teenage daughter, Paige, just inside of town. He's a stay at home dad." The last victim was a young punk rock teenager with dyed hair and piercings. "The last one is Jason Krisson. Fifteen and attends Berry High School. Honors student until about three months ago when grades began to slip because he was going through a depression."

"So the killer doesn't care about appearance or social status." Rossi pointed out. "That means it has something to do with personality traits. The unsub must be close to them."

"It could be their names" Everyone looked towards Emily. "All their last names start with K. There may be something symbolic to that."

"Burning at the stake is very common for witch hunters. Do we know if these people had any pagan backgrounds?" Reid asked.

"None." JJ said shooting down his idea.

"We'll continue the profile on the plane. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch said and everyone quickly packed up and left the room. When Emily walked pass Derek, Reid noticed the deliberate avoidance of closeness he made. JJ followed Emily out of the corner of her eye and scowled at Derek for his actions. Hotch purposely evaded the drama in the room. He would only be concerned if it got in the way of their professional behavior.

ON THE PLANE

Everyone had just boarded the plane and the tension was still in the air. JJ sat next to Hotch and across the table was Reid and Morgan. Emily stayed standing and Rossi was in the seat right next to her. They all continued their profile on the unsub, with some help from Garcia via the computer. Emily almost had to stay back with the techy, but argued that she was cleared to fly, but not for field work. After exchanging possible reasons behind the unsubs attacks, they all took their individual seats for the rest of the plane ride.

Rossi walked up to Prentiss and sat down across from her. The younger agent looked up from the book she was reading. "How are you feeling?" Rossi started.

"I'm glad to be back at work" Emily smiled.

Rossi smiled in return and looked down at his hands. Emily sensed that he had more to say, so she set her book down and gave him her full attention. "I understand keeping your professional and personal life separate. I also understand that we all have our secrets, especially with our jobs, but I felt our team was close enough to let each other know when things were getting serious with someone outside of the team."

Emily sighed. She knew that this talk would be coming. In all honesty, she didn't know that it was getting serious between her and Ryan. She looked into Rossi's eyes and saw the betrayal. "I'm sorry, Dave." Her and Rossi had always been close. She almost became his protégé in a way.

"Just remember, you can tell me anything." They shared a smile and Emily gave a nod of understanding. Rossi shook his head and took a glance over at JJ. The blond was talking animatedly to Reid. The older agent was confused. By the way that Emily had grown towards JJ, Rossi had figured that she would have been the first to know about Ryan, but the liaison was just as shocked as the rest of the team.

"No, Spence, really, I'm fine." JJ said convincingly. "Garcia and Kevin have been watching Henry plenty and as much as I hate Will right now, Henry is his son."

"That's not what I was talking about." Reid said, nonchalant. JJ gave him a confused look. Reid thought about his response. "I mean, everyone is affected by Emily's relationship. She kept it from you too." At this, JJ got uncomfortable. Reid noted her shifting in her seat.

"We shouldn't be talking about this. It's rude and juvenile." Reid smirked at JJ reaction. He wasn't hurt by her harsh tone. Actually he was glad that his initial suspicions concerning JJ were correct.

"I understand." He stood up and walked over to Derek. Contestant number two. "Are you okay?"

BERRY, ALABAMA…

The police department was in full bustle. Phones were ringing off the hook, officers were running around the small building. It seemed there was no peace in the place. Hotch and Emily walked in, nearly running into a speed-walking intern. Being spotted immediately, the sheriff made a bee line for the FBI agents. "You must be Agent Hotchner, I'm Sheriff Griffin" The sheriff said once in front of the two.

"Pleasure to meet you. This agent Prentiss. We have four other agents with us who are out in the field presently, I'm sure you'll meet them soon." Hotch said. "Meanwhile is there a place that Agent Prentiss and I can set up what we have?"

"Well as you can see we're a little cramped in here." the sheriff looked around debating what usable space he could give. "I guess you could set up in the break room, not many of us have time to go there right now anyways."

"Thank you." Hotch nodded then headed that way with Prentiss following behind.

IN THE WOODS…

Reid and Morgan were standing by a pile of ashes in the middle of what looked like a forest. Police tape surrounded the perimeter of the crime scene and three police officers served as crowd control. Reid turned around in a circle to take in the surroundings. "The clearing is big enough that the trees wouldn't catch on fire. That means he doesn't get off on the destruction of the fire like most arsonists." Reid stated.

"This isn't an arson, it's a homicide." Morgan replied. "What gets me is that we are only about a mile or two away from the camping zone. Wouldn't campers hear the screaming?"

"Coroner report said that there was an unknown substance on the victim's face. I bet if we get it tested it's probably melted down duct-tape"

"Okay, so he knows what he's doing. He has control and is clever enough to plan the setting."

"He does it at night so no one can see him." Morgan added.

"He could easily pass for a camper with the tools he used to do this. Looks like the fire was started just like any other campfire."

"Okay, so he doesn't stand out, the killings are personal, and he plans it out. This isn't just a mindless murder that was triggered. He had motive."

"We should go see the other two crime scenes and compare them." Then they both started for the police line and then to the car.

"So what's with you and Em?" Reid asked.

"Reid, drop it"

"So there is something. If there wasn't, you would have just said so. Even if you didn't want me to know, you would try to deny it, but you didn't"

"Spencer I am warning you. Drop it." Morgan then picked up his pace, leaving Reid to follow.

KRISSON RESIDENCE….

JJ and Rossi stepped out of their vehicle and made their way towards a house that seemed half finished. There was a homemade fence out front with various objects covering the holes where the two dogs could escape. One dog was a little beagle and the other was a large German shepherd. As the two agents approached, the two dogs started barking like crazy. Rossi stepped up to the gate and before entering, squatted down and held out his hand for the dogs to sniff. Surprisingly, the German shepherd was kind and dopey, but the beagle seemed skeptical and protective.

"JD, Shiloh. Come here!" JJ looked up and saw a middle-aged man walk out calling for the dogs. He came and pulled them by the collars away from the gate and motioned for the two agents to come in. "You're the FBI agents aren't you?" They both nodded. "Go on inside. I'll be there in a sec." The two looked at each other then headed towards the house.

Once Rossi and JJ were inside, they stood awkwardly, yet respectfully at the front door. Looking around, they noticed the house looked like it was halfway under construction when the workers decided to quit. Then the door opened behind them and in came the man, pushing his dogs to keep them from entering the house.

"Sorry about that. They aren't fully trained yet." He walked in past the agents towards the living room. "Please sit down. Oh I'm sorry. I'm Richard Krisson."

"Nice to meet you. I'm agent Rossi and this is agent Jareau."

"Can I get you something, water, maybe some soda?" Richard offered.

"No thank you, sir. We'd just like to ask you some questions." JJ answered.

"Of course, go ahead." He seemed a bit stressed, which was understandable.

"Sir, did Jason ever mention having any enemies?" Rossi started.

"No, he seemed to get along with almost everyone. He's… was very mature so he tended to hang out more with older kids."

"Were any of these older kids seem to be rebellious in anyway?"

"No. I mean I never really met them, but he was always happy when he was at work. Or when he hung out with his friend Chris."

"Chris…"

"Robbins, but he had nothing to do with this. He's a great guy and really loved Jason."

"Of course. We just might be able to get some more information from him." Richard nodded. "Where did he work?"

"At this local theater. Next to where the fair is held."

"Sir, did your son practice Wicca?"

"What? No. He uh, he didn't have a specific religion really." The question continued. Nothing seemed to be unusual. Jason was a normal teenager with no violent background or anything unusual other than his style. Rossi and JJ stood up to say their good byes and handed their card to Jason's dad.

"We should go talk to this Chris Robbins. Sounds like he'd know more than the father." JJ stated.

Rossi nodded in agreement. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about Emily." The older agent noticed the rigidness that went through JJ.

"I didn't know anything." And with that JJ started walking faster.

**Well there you go. And now you're gonna hate me even more because it's going to take me forever again. But please hang in there and review. Cause it makes me happy and motivated. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok guys, I love the reviews and I know it's been a long time. Thanks for being so kind and still following. Part of the reason it's been so long is because I feared you hated me for taking so long and I have a bad habit of once I put something off I take even longer to do it because I fear it's too late to make it up. And it also hasn't been a great past couple years... Anyway, I can come up with a million excuses, but here it is. It'll still probably take a long time between updates but as long as my work load stays kind of low I will hopefully at least keep it within a few months. Don't hate me... **

JJ and Rossi had just finished speaking with Chris and were heading back to the station. Chris was oddly a thirty something year old guy who, in fact was a retired cop. He had said that Jason was very open minded when it came to religion and was all around a nice guy. He said that he couldn't think of any reason that someone would do this to Jason. All in all, JJ and Rossi had nothing. Tomorrow they would go and talk with some of the other victims' families and hopefully find a connection.

Once they arrived at the station, Reid and Morgan were already there. "Good, you guys are here." Hotch said referring to JJ and Rossi. "Reid and Morgan just informed us that by the looks of the crime scenes, the unsub has motive and plans out the killings specifically."

"Each crime scene seemed to be identical." Morgan filled.

"According to the coroners' report, each victim was knocked unconscious with a cylindrical object, most likely a bat. And show evidence of drag marks." Emily added.

"So this guy has to be strong enough to drag these people around, and tie them to poles in the ground." Morgan continued.

"That means it's only on guy though. Two people would have been able to carry a body." said JJ.

"What have you got from the Krisson family?" Hotch asked turning towards Rossi.

"Not much. According to his dad and his best friend, Jason was a nice guy with no enemies. He had no specific religion. He was ambitious."

"Great so we have barely anything to go on tonight." Emily said disappointedly.

"That means tomorrow we have a lot of digging to do." Hotch stated. "Prentiss, tomorrow you'll be helping Garcia search through the victims virtual lives, find any connections you can, this is a small town, it shouldn't be that hard. Rossi and JJ, continue interviewing victims' families. Reid, I want you to go through all logged evidence see what you can find. Morgan, you and I will go by the morgue and inspect the bodies ourselves." Each member of the team nodded, understanding their duties. "Now everyone, go back to the motel and get some rest."

Everyone started packing up and headed to separate cars. Once at the motel, Reid and Morgan headed to their room, Hotch and Rossi to theirs, and JJ and Emily to theirs. Rossi and Hotch got to their room and Hotch immediately took out his laptop. While changing, Rossi started up a conversation, "How's Jack been?"

"He's been good. He likes school and we talk to each other everyday." Aaron replied, removing his superior mask and humbling down to equal.

"That's good." a comfortable silence fell over the room again. "Have you heard any news about JJ and Henry?"

Hotch looked up from his computer. "She came to me about some advice a few days ago. I can't really say anything about it though."

"Of course." Another pause. "What about Emily?"

"What about Emily?"

"How is she? You know, now that she's back."

"Professionally, she's frustrated with being condemned to office work. Understandably." Rossi nodded. "As for personally, you know as much as I do."

"I just don't understand why she didn't talk to us about it. Don't get me wrong, I understand secrets, but not one this big."

"As far as I know, it didn't effect her work, so she mustn't have seen a reason to tell us."

"Come on, Aaron. You know as well as I do that this team has more than a business relationship." Hotch only looked into Rossi's eyes. Both men had a shade of doubt behind their stares.

"I have to call the sitter." And with that, Aaron went into the bathroom, leaving Rossi to his thoughts. Emily was part of their family, there could be no doubt about it. But what is going on with her lately? She broke protocol; she's keeping secrets; it's completely out of character. One little slip in their job could be her life. And it almost was! Dave was worried as he lay down in his bed. He took his time in trying to decipher a plan on how to help Emily. Help her get back into their family. His mind wondered to everything but what it should be focused on: work.

Over in Reid and Morgan's room, Derek had just stepped out of the shower and into the room. Reid was laying on his bed, reading a magazine. Derek looked over and was instantly confused. "Is that a gossip magazine? Why in the world are you reading that?"

Reid looked up, also confused, but then noticed what was in his hands. "Oh, it was the only thing with articles in it. Hey, did you know that two thirds of women fall in love with people they've known for a long time rather than someone new in their life."

"I know where you're going with this and no, I'm not going to talk about Emily." Morgan warned.

"Emily? Who said anything about Emily? I was just stating a statistic that I found interesting in this magazine." He feigned innocence.

"You know what? Fine, we'll talk about it." Reid perked up. "How are you doing with all of this?" then the genius suddenly got silent. "See it's not that easy." Morgan got into his bed, getting comfortable.

"I feel betrayed." Reid said out of nowhere, his voice cracking. Morgan sat up, thinking the conversation was over. "Emily had always felt like my big sister. She looked out for me during my worst moments, even when I didn't want her to. She saved me. Sure she teased me, but I knew it was with love. And she always knew when to tell me when I was being a little too clever. We could have conversations in multiple languages and enjoy similar literature and films. I felt like I could talk to her about anything." Reid paused, gathering his courage. Morgan was lost for words. He didn't expect him to open up. "I was angry when I found out about Ryan. Then I was depressed. Then I was angry again when I found out she got engaged to him. Then I compartmentalized, because that's what she would've done. And now… I don't know how to act."

"I'm sorry, Spencer." Morgan said, not knowing what else to do. He hadn't realized how much the young man was effected by this. Sure, he had noticed Reid become distant when Ryan first showed up, but he figured he was depressed over Emily being in a coma.

"And that's why I'm asking you. And JJ. And maybe even Rossi. I need to know how to act. I need to figure out what these emotions are that I'm feeling." His eyes were starting to cloud over with unshed tears. Morgan started to talk, but Reid cut him off. "I need some air."

And with that, Reid walked out of his room. Morgan was left in the dim room. He had been caught off guard with Reid's confession. The boy had always acted like none of this bothered him. Morgan was so wrapped up in his only feelings towards this situation, that he'd failed to notice his friend was hurt. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to help him. He didn't know how to act himself. How was he suppose to give Reid advice when he had no idea what to tell him.

Outside, Reid was sitting on a bench in front of the parking lot. He freely let the tears fall and tried to catch his breath. He didn't expect to open up as much. He just figured if he let Morgan in a little, the older agent would do the same. But once he started, it all floated out. And by the end of it, he couldn't stand to keep it up. He didn't want to hear Morgan's side anymore. He didn't want to break down in front of Morgan either. Now he understands why Morgan didn't open up; it feels awful.

As Emily was in the shower, JJ was sitting on the bed, talking to Garcia via her cell. "How was Henry tonight?" she asked her usual babysitter.

"Oh you know him. It takes him forever to finish dinner when your not around and then even longer to get him into bed and go to sleep."

"Which story did you read him tonight?" JJ had a small smile on her face when she thought of Henry falling asleep, looking so peaceful. It was her favorite image.

"Cat in the Hat. Well he read some of it, but I had to use the voices you use for the characters." JJ chuckled. There was no one she loved more than her son and she couldn't stand to be away from him. She misses all his little facial expressions and quirks.

"You told him I love him, right?"

"Of course" there was a brief silence when Garcia spoke up again. "How is the situation over there?"

JJ looked at the door to the bathroom. "I can handle it."

"I don't doubt you. You know she's your best friend and it could just be a closeness/loneliness thing and it's all just in your head and there's really nothing to worry about. In fact, you should enjoy her company and comfort." Garcia only said these things, not because she believed them, but because she knew that if she could get JJ to give in to Emily's comfort, then maybe it would lead to honesty between the two.

"Maybe. I'll think about it." JJ said sincerely. "Good night, Garcia."

"Good night, Pumpkin." They both hung up and JJ took a deep breath. After collecting her thoughts, she stood up and began to get ready for bed.

In the shower, Emily let the water run down her body as her mind wandered. What she had heard at Garcia's had been haunting her, eating away and digging into her rational thoughts as she tried to make sense of it. "What if she loves you back?" The more Emily played it back in her head, the more she became confident in that she heard those exact words coming from Penelope. More importantly, she knew it was about her. Her and JJ. Did Penelope mean that JJ loves Emily? If so, that would explain JJ odd behavior around Emily. How she avoided the older agent once she discovered her fiancé. But that's just it; Emily is engaged and she loves Ryan and she loves JJ's friendship. Emily only saw one way around it and that's what she was going to tell JJ.

As she stepped out of the shower, Emily got changed into sweats and a baggy T-shirt. She brushed her teeth then made her way out of the small bathroom, gathering what she wanted to say in her head before opening the door. JJ was lying on the bed with her laptop, reading something on the screen, completely wrapped into it. Emily breathed in and sat on her bed. "How's Henry?" she asked nonchalant.

"Good." was JJ short response, not looking up from her laptop.

"JJ…" The blonde looked up, surprised by Emily's nervousness. She was now facing JJ straight on. "When I stayed the night at Garcia's a few weeks ago, I heard you guys… Garcia say something." JJ was scared stiff. Her face resembled a deer caught in someone's headlights. "I don't want to sound like I'm jumping to conclusions because I've thought this over and I wouldn't be saying this if I wasn't absolutely sure I knew the meaning of what she said. JJ we have the best of friendships and I know I wasn't completely honest with the whole Ryan thing," JJ suppressed a cringe, "but I genuinely didn't know it was getting that serious. If I did I would've told you guys. But you and I use to have so much fun, going out and getting drinks and having movie nights. Those are honestly the best moments of my life. And I don't want that to change."

"I don't want that to change either." JJ said quickly, sitting up and facing Emily too.

"But they have. You've become distant and every time I try to talk to you, you reply with no more than three words. And I miss you JJ. I miss my best friend. Morgan has been giving me the cold shoulder and I have no one to talk to because your steering clear of me."

JJ grabbed Emily's hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. You have to know I will always be here for you."

"Really? Cause it hasn't felt like it lately. Not one person is really talking to me anymore."

JJ pulled Emily closer into a caring hug. "I promise that no matter what, I will be here for you. I love you Emily Prentiss."

"I love you too, Jennifer" They both tightened the hug and enjoyed the feel of the other's arms around them. And when JJ started to pull back, Emily stopped her. "JJ…" the brunette moved just far enough to look into JJ eyes. Then leaned in and kissed her.

IN THE WOODS….

The Music played in the truck; a nice gospel song to ease the soul. A cross hung from the rearview mirror. In the back was a passed out football player. His mouth was duct-taped and his body lay limp. Just outside of the truck a strong looking man drove a large stake into the ground and started to build a campfire set up around it. Once he was finished, he returned to the truck and hoisted the teenager up. The boy started to regain consciousness as he was being tied to the stake in the ground. Muffled sounds of protest were heard and he put up a struggle. However, the ropes were tight and there was no escaping.

The man leaned over to light the fire and then backed away to look into the child's eyes. "My son, you are not well. I am here to cleanse you and work as God's hands. You have been corrupted by sin. One of the seven deadliest. 'Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.' Here, my son, is your release. May God help you when judgment comes and may this fire remind you of the pits of hell you may burn on if you are not forgiven." He looked up at the smoke rising. "I must leave, for the devil is out to stop me." With that he drew a cross on his body and said one final prayer.

**There it is... Please keep up the positive reviews and any helpful criticism. Thanks for being patient and holding on. **


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